Taken from the famously provocative section of Michelangelo's fresco Sistine Chapel Ceiling, of whose design the main components are nine scenes from the Biblical story found in the Book of Genesis. Its iconic standing has elicited countless imitations from popular culture. My favorite of which is "Touched by His Noodly Appendage" by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:
("rAmen!")
Here's the perspective I like to offer on this image. It is called, ad hoc, the Creation of Adam (by God). You can see how God transfers life to Man by imposing it upon him through a touch of the Divine Hand. This serves as an overarching paradigm for interpreting the action of 'bestowing meaning' upon something that is otherwise merely matter.
However, what happens when the fresco is read not from right to left, but from left to right? The meaning inverts and becomes starkly existential: the depiction of the creation of God by Man. Man in an act not unlike cloud-watching imposes meaning and essence upon the heavens, upon what is merely space.
This is especially interesting considering the long-standing theory that the depiction of God, in combination with his red cloak and surrounding cherubim, is anatomically similar to the human brain. This would drastically redouble the notion that God exists only inside the human mind.
If anyone knows more than I do considering the religiosity of Michelangelo, please let me know. I would like to see whether there is anything to my theory that the Creation is actually meant as the greatest double entendre in the history of art (or, at least, intentionally).
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